Current cooling systems for work vehicles, such as tractors, generally include one or more heat exchangers and a fan configured to pull air through the heat exchanger(s) from a location outside the work vehicle. Typically, these cooling systems are only designed to work in one direction, whereby the fan generates an airflow that is directed into the work vehicle through its front grille and is exhausted from the work vehicle at its rear. Thus, when the work vehicle is moving in its normal, forward direction of travel (i.e., when the front grille is facing the direction of travel), air is pulled through the front grille and past the heat exchanger(s) in the vehicle's direction of travel. As a result, the temperature of the air entering the front grille is generally the same as the temperature of the ambient air out in front of the vehicle. However, when the work vehicle is moving in the reverse direction (i.e., when the front grille faces away from the direction of travel), the air entering the front grille typically includes some of the hot air that was previously directed past the vehicle's engine. As a result, the air flowing into the front grille and through the heat exchanger(s) is typically at an elevated temperature relative to the temperature of the ambient air around the work vehicle. For instance, the temperature of the air flowing into the front grille and through the heat exchanger(s) may often be 10-15° C. above the ambient air temperature when the work vehicle is moving in the non-forward or reverse direction. Such hot air recirculation can significantly reduce the cooling performance of the heat exchanger(s), thereby impacting the overall performance of the work vehicle.
Accordingly, a work vehicle having a cooling system that is capable of reversing the airflow through its heat exchanger(s) in order to prevent and/or limit hot air recirculation would be welcomed in the technology.